When Swords Meet Fists
by Inverse of Disaster
Summary: When two houses are at war with each other...one might wonder, will love prevail? [ AU, Mori x Hunny. ]


It was the year 1600. In a far-off land, where wars were rampant, and where, in the end, there is often no real victory...that is where this story takes place. The houses of Morinozuka and Haninozuka were in the middle of a bloody dispute. While the causes of the argument were completely unknown, the fact was, that the fight was still there, and that, for as long as the fight would go on, the two houses would be torn further and further apart...

_Many had already lost lives in this dispute. While there had been no suffocating losses on either side, such as the loss of a beloved family member, many of the underlings on both sides had been afflicted. Too many. In the eyes of the children in the family, why wouldn't the bloody dispute end...?_

_In the beginning, Haninozuka and Morinozuka went along like peanut butter and jelly. They would always ally with each other when the sign of a fight came, and when they would join forces, they were literally unstoppable in the battlefield...yet, in the end, they killed few, although they injured more than they would have liked to. They always seemed to foster peace as one of their main values._

_In the end, no one knows just quite how this bloody dispute started, as is typical with most wars. However, most people in both houses realized that it needed to come to an end, and fast-for otherwise, this could be the end of the Haninozuka house, the Morinozuka house, or...both._

_At least, one little blond-haired boy thought it had gone on for long enough._

Karate training, cake eating, and time with his bun-bun. This was how the eldest son of Haninozuka spent his time...at least, before the war began. He was surrounded in an aura of eternal youth, which perhaps went to explain why he seemed so...unsuited when having to prepare for war.

Yet, here he was, in a traditional Haninozuka fighting kimono, training from dawn until dusk, and that was _outside_ of the battles that he had to fight. While Mitsukuni was faithful to his family, and would fight to protect them, he honestly felt...so..opposed to fighting against the Morinozuka house. He remembered the days when he could frolic freely between either house, challenging others to fights or perhaps to try and learn some kendo once in a while, though he lacked the skill that seemed to come naturally to the Morinozuka family, as how they were strong in kendo, yet weaker in the martial arts.

And then there was the matter of the boy...Takashi, was his name. Takashi and Mitsukuni were about as close as you could get as friends, of course, without crossing the subtle, near-invisible line between intimate, trustworthy friendship and passionate love. Perhaps this line had been crossed already...although, if indeed it had, Mitsukuni was oblivious to the fact. He merely regarded the boy as his closest friend...or did he? One could hardly see the truth and the depth under Mitsukuni's thoughts and feelings; albeit there, they were hidden in a sugarcoated layer of ecstatic happiness.

However...this worried Mitsukuni. He wanted the war to end. He hadn't seen Takashi in months. Sometimes, during the night, he would be kept up by thoughts of the fun that the two used to have together, as children, and when he would sleep, he would sometimes have ferocious nightmares in which he struck down the tall, lean boy with his own hands, only to wake up with a scream and a stream of tears...Mitsukuni knew that the war must stop, and soon.

In short, the two houses continued to argue, while internal strife involving the argument was slowly eating both house away. This is undoubtedly the lowest point of both houses, however...it would not last forever, and one day, in the middle of the battlefield, the whole situation would explode.

"...Takashi, you know what must be done. You must go out into battle. Against the Haninozuka house...but, more importantly, against Mitsukuni. Everything is at stake here. If we lose...not only will a horrifying blow be dealt to Morinozuka house, but, we may cease to exist. Do you...understand?" uttered a man, whose face and body was mostly cloaked by darkness.

Takashi froze. This was...the very last thing he wanted to happen, and yet, it was happening in front of his very eyes. And, he knew, in the end, that he would be forced to represent his family, that he would be forced to, perhaps, strike down Mitsukuni, which the boy could not bear to do. He too could feel the separation anxiety tearing him apart, for he had not seen the boy in months. And, he wanted to see him, but not like this..._not like this...at all..._

However, despite the thought that his heart, body, and soul were fully against this, he merely nodded, and drifted away silently, as was his custom. People in the Morinozuka house had grown used to the boy hardly talking at all, yet, even the man who had just prevously spoken to Takashi raised an eyebrow at how the boy was merely accepting his duty, to perhaps kill the one most dear to him...

Everyone in the Morinozuka and Haninozuka houses could easily see it, that the two boys caring for each other transcended the realm of normal friendship. Prior to this anomaly, the two were always together, Mitsukuni often hugging Takashi, or, when he didn't feel like tiring his feet out, riding atop the tall boy's shoulders. Most would raise their eyebrows at such a relationship, especially in such early times as this, but, those who lived in the respective houses were almost used to it...which made it sad, really, that this war was taking place at all...

_The following day then approaches...the battlefield is ready. On one side was a battalion of generally muscle-bound men, though the one commanding them could have easily been mistaken for an eight-year-old. On the other side were...several men with swords, led by a handsome almond-eyed boy. While they varied greatly in age, in stature, and in general looks, they all seemed fairly adept with their swords...One could tell that this may certainly be a long battle. Yet, in a battle of this sort...there are no winners, only losers, which both boys recognize._

"...Takashi." The small boy nearly uttered the word, causing the almond-eyed boy to nearly break, with its severity, and its utterly repressed emotion. All Mitsukuni wanted was to run to the boy and hug him, that was all he wanted, all he wanted at all...

Suddenly, something broke in the taller boy. He ran to Mitsukuni and held him as tightly as possible, wanting merely for this fight to not happen, for this war to end, but, not so that things could go back to where they were. No, not at all. In the end, he wanted...so much more...

It was now clear between both of the boys that what they felt was no longer friendship, that they longed to be together with all of their hearts...

And, at that point, even their gentle exchange of "I love you..." was not great enough. In the end, the only way they could seal such emotion was with a kiss. Not a kiss on the cheek, or upon the head, or anywhere...except, of course, on the lips. And...that was exactly what the blond-haired boy, the one whose personality was so sugar-coated that one would wonder whether that was all it was made of...that was what he did.

Their lips were sealed. Neither tried to pull away, and while it was an innocent kiss at first, it delved deeper, and soon, Takashi could taste the remainder of a quite sugary chocolate cake as their tongues gently allowed themselves to explore some more. Finally, the two parted. Mitsukuni then climbed atop Takashi's back. It had looked like nothing had changed, if anyone had seen it.

But, things were different.

The respective militias then saw this, and, both of them gently plodded away, perhaps to report to the heads of the Morinozuka and Haninozuka houses that the match had been that...a draw.

_And, of course, not long after, the bloody war ended, and things between the Haninozuka house and Morinozuka house returned to their normal, peaceful state. And, of course...Takashi and Mitsukuni shared many, many more kisses._

* * *

:: Author's Note :: 

Well, how do you like this oneshot? I got the idea for it one night and eventually decided to write it. It might be very much AU, but I still like it and think it holds a certain charm of its own. Then again, that might just be me and my own fangirly thoughts.

And I'm sorry that this fanfic ignores the fact that all the other characters exist. But, it's AU, so I guess I can get away with it. :D;;


End file.
